HomeMusic NewsWhich superstar is music’s most consistent money-maker? The answer may surprise you

Which superstar is music’s most consistent money-maker? The answer may surprise you

July 17, 2017

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ABC/Randy HolmesLast week, Billboard revealed its list of Top 50 Money Makers of 2016: those music artists who raked in the most cash last year. But as the publication now notes, there’s only one artist whose earning power is so strong that they’ve appeared on every edition of the list for the past seven years.

Believe it or not, it’s Elton John. While the pop-rock legend has never topped the list, he’s been on it every year since 2010. On the latest Billboard tally, he ranked #32. For 2015, he was #15, while he was #35 on the 2014 list. From 2010 to 2013, he was #33, #13, #29 and #33, respectively.

Paul McCartney, meanwhile, gets honorable mention: He’s appeared on the list seven times too, but one of those times was with his old group, The Beatles, who ranked #24 in 2011, the year their catalog finally hit iTunes.

In the past seven years, there have been five artists who’ve been #1 on the list — because one of them did it multiple times. As you might have guessed, that’s Taylor Swift, who was Billboard‘s #1 money maker for 2015, 2013 and 2011. She didn’t appear on this year’s ranking at all, though, because she hasn’t toured since the end of 2015.

When Taylor topped the 2015 chart, though, she had the highest earnings of anyone in the past seven years: an amazing $73.5 million. Even Beyonce, who topped this year’s chart, “only” brought in $62.1 million.

The other artists who’ve topped the chart in the last seven years? Lady Gaga in 2010, Madonna in 2012 and One Direction in 2014.